Son of Bears
by uoduck
Summary: As Bilbo comes back from scouting ahead, he comes back with interesting news. Well, interesting for Gandalf anyway. There were two bears in the countryside instead of the one that he had been expecting. Also, the whole bear thing was news to Thorin Oakenshield and his company anyway. Harry/Thranduil, Bilbo/Thorin
1. Chapter 1

AN: I don't own Hobbit or Harry Potter.

This will be Harry/Thranduil.

* * *

Bilbo stared at the two bears right across the valley from him. They were giant, probably a lot bigger than other bears that the hobbit had seen. One was deep brown and the other was pure white, a little whiter than Azog's white warg, which Bilbo was grateful for. He didn't think his nerves could take anymore close up encounters with either that warg or that particular orc. He didn't think Thorin could take anymore up close and personal encounters with the orc, at least without any dwarf guarding his back. Both bears were staring down at the valley, almost like they were patrolling or guarding it.

As Bilbo further surveyed the valley, he did see the aforementioned orcs and wargs. The orcs were wonderfully, far off, like they were keeping well away from the two bears. Bilbo huffed and climbed back to the ground, being careful to not make any noise.

When he finally reached the place where he had left the company, he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Well?" Balin asked. All of the dwarves leaned in to hear what Bilbo had to say, including Thorin.

And when Thorin strode over to Bilbo's side and looked the hobbit over with a keen eye, Bilbo flushed. This was entirely new to him; this attention that Thorin gave him now. It had all started at the Carrock and Bilbo still remembered being pulled into a hug by Thorin quite fondly.

He shook his head then turned to look at the rest of the company. "The wargs are many miles away."

The dwarves cheered, albeit quietly, and Nori came over to thump Bilbo on the shoulder in congratulations. Bilbo rolled his eyes at him but smiled nonetheless.

"Didn't I tell you that he would be a good burglar?" Gandalf spoke to the dwarves. "Quiet like a mouse and quick on his feet."

Bilbo reached out a hand to stop the dwarves from saying anything else. "Uh, there was something else though. We may have a small, well in this case, giant, problem."

"Something else?" Thorin enquired, turning to look at Bilbo.

"Giant?" Dwalin repeated.

Gandalf looked thoughtful. He was scratching his chin then turned to look out to where Bilbo had come from. "Was this problem bear shaped?"

"Bear... How did you know?" Bilbo asked as Thorin took a step closer to Bilbo, almost touching him. Bilbo was not proud to say that he squeaked a little. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Thorin smile a little.

"Hmm," Gandalf murmured, turning to look further up the path. "We should move on."

A few seconds later, Gandalf remarked, "I know of a man who might take us in for a few nights. He lives a mile or two away from here."

"Might?" Thorin asked, narrowing his eyes at the wizard.

"He may either let us use his home... Or he might kill us," Gandalf replied nonchalantly.

Bilbo's jaw dropped and he gaped as he noticed the others doing the same. "Kill us?"

"Let us go," Gandalf announced, gesturing to the path ahead of them.

Bilbo rolled his eyes but followed the wizard, hearing Thorin start to walk behind him.

* * *

The minute they all heard roaring, they all started to run, or run quicker. It sounded like bears to Bilbo but he had never heard bears being this loud before. They had run through a forest and now they were flat out running over a valley that had the occasional creek running through it. It was roughly a couple of hours after midnight so the sun had yet to rise. And it was cold! If they hadn't been running, he probably would have needed to borrow one of the blankets that the dwarves had.

"Come on! Hurry!" Gandalf shouted down the line.

Bilbo was running behind Gandalf and suddenly Bombur over took him. Bilbo gaped at the rotund dwarf then took a minute to turn and look behind him.

The second he saw what was behind them, Bilbo paled. Both of the bears that he had seen earlier were full on charging the dwarves. Though it looked like the white one was going at a slower pace than the brown one was.

"Come on, halfling!" Thorin murmured, coming up behind him and, Eru help him, the dwarf scooped Bilbo up in his arms.

"Thorin!" Bilbo yelled, a little half-heartedly. "Put me down this instant!"

"I don't think you would like to get eaten by a bear, now would you?" Thorin replied, a little smugly.

Bilbo sighed, already feeling the warmth that was coming from Thorin. He knew that he would prefer not to get eaten by a bear but why did it have to be Thorin to be the one to pick him up? Why did it have to be the dwarf that he had started to have feelings for? He groaned but nonetheless curled into Thorin's chest, pleased at feeling a little warmer.

As they ran, all of them could see the mysterious cabin that they were apparently running to. When they reached the door, Gandalf opened it and ushered everyone inside, closing it behind them. Though as the bears had drawn very close, Bilbo startled in Thorin's arms when there was a loud bang on the door. Like it was two very big bodies hitting the door at the same time or perhaps one right after the other. Thorin tightened his arms around Bilbo as he saw the other dwarves put their hands on their weapons. But after the first bang, he couldn't hear anything else except the soft padding of big furred feet and quiet whuffling.

"What was that?" Dori asked, turning to glance up at Gandalf.

The wizard had a peculiar look on his face, almost as if he had quite expected the bear but had miscalculated or something.

Gandalf shook his head and turned to address the dwarves. "That was our host. At least, the brown one was. I am very much in the dark about the white bear however."

Bilbo quietly chuckled as the wizard looked very put off by not knowing about the white bear.

"Our host?" Dwalin asked, his hand still on his war hammer.

"Yes, our host. He is called Beorn and he is a skin-changer," Gandalf replied, pulling his hat off and placing it on a nearby rack on the closest wall. "We shall stay here for a few days and resupply and rest. Be sure to stay inside during the night, though."

"A skin-changer?" Bilbo asked, sliding down from Thorin's chest as the dwarf let him down though not without tightening his arms around Bilbo for a second.

"Yes, he is a bear during the night and a man during the day. However, the bear is most unreliable when it comes to telling friend from foe. The man is more agreeable," Gandalf remarked, pulling out his pipe.

"'Tis unnatural," Dori muttered.

Bilbo watched as the dwarves started to spread out to find suitable spots for their bedrolls. He took that time to look around at their surroundings. The home was covered in straw and there were... horses and cows in the home, looking at the dwarves with odd looks. The furniture was big, bigger than most Tall Folk's furniture was.

He started to wander around the home and he occasionally stopped to say hi to the animals who seemed more intelligent than regular horses and cows.

* * *

Bilbo was woken up in the middle of the night by a door opening. He stayed hidden in his bedroll but peeked his head out. There were two people walking into the home, up by the table. They were both men, though one looked younger than the other and both were not wearing very much clothing. Both human men were of the same height which meant they were very very much taller than Bilbo.

The older man had dark brown hair all around his head, almost like a dwarf but not quite. The younger man had black hair but Bilbo could see that he had white strands through out it. That did imply something to Bilbo but his mind was too muzzy with sleep to understand it.

Bilbo watched as the two came down the steps and stopped at the foot of them. He heard them muttering to each other but couldn't make out what they were saying. But he did hear the words "dwarves, orcs and elves."

The last thing he heard before he fell back asleep was a light chuckle from the younger man.

* * *

Bilbo woke up the next morning, a little warmer than he had been when he had fallen asleep. He blinked his eyes open and discovered that Thorin had laid his coat on top of Bilbo, again. He grinned sleepily then as soon as his stomach growled, he stretched and moved to stand up. The dwarves had all gotten up before him as their bedrolls were all empty.

He padded over and up to the elevated space with the table in the middle of the room. All of the dwarves were sitting around the table, drinking out of big mugs of milk? He glanced around the table and realized the only space available was the space right next to Thorin. Bilbo sighed, grinned a little, then moved to sit in between Thorin and Fíli.

Only after sitting down did he realize that both men from last night were standing at the fireplace that was next to the table and staring at him. Gandalf was staring at them too, though with more tact than Bilbo was.

Bilbo glanced at Fíli and poked him.

Fíli turned to look at him curiously.

"Who are they?"

"They are our hosts," Thorin turned to look down at him. "Good morning, Master Baggins."

"Good morning, Thorin," Bilbo hesitantly returned.

Thorin smiled at him then turned to look up at the tall folk.

"Your route goes through the Mirkwood, yes?" The older man asked, walking over to stare at Thorin. The younger man too strode over to stand by the table after pulling a big chest from the corner of the room. This close Bilbo could readily see that there were more than a couple strands of white through the younger man's hair. Beorn glanced at him and narrowed his eyes. The younger glared at him and huffed out a sigh.

"Ah, yes it does," Gandalf remarked, pulling out his pipe.

"I would not go through that forest unnecessarily," Beorn replied. "Only if it were urgent."

"It is urgent," Thorin broke in. "We need to reach Esgaroth before next month."

Beorn turned to stare at Thorin, only after sparing a glance at Bilbo.

"Why is the little bunny with you?" Beorn asked after a minute or two. The younger man started to chuckle for minute or two. The other dwarves started to snicker too as it was quite obvious that Beorn was referring to Bilbo.

"Excuse me?" Bilbo spluttered, choking on a bite of toast. "I'm not a bunny!"

"Da, I don't think the hobbit likes that," The younger man finally spoke, hiding what was clearly a smile behind a hand.

Gandalf sputtered, coughing on some smoke from his pipe. "Da?!"

"Of course, he is my father after all," the younger man replied, grinning over at Gandalf.

"Excuse me. I don't think I have introduced my son," Beorn started. "Alexander, meet Gandalf."

Alexander stared at Gandalf then turned back to glare at Beorn. "It's Alex, Da. You always use my longer name."

Beorn rolled his eyes.

Bilbo watched as some of the dwarves stared at Alex with new respect.

"I also would not go through that forest willy-nilly," Alex commented, bringing them back to the subject at hand. "It has grown dark and ill with sickness as both me and my father have noticed. That much we have sensed."

"Not to mention the Wood Elves," Beorn added.

"Thranduil..." Thorin grumbled. "I would not go into their so called palace on this journey if we could help it."

Bilbo watched as Beorn and Alex exchanged glances then turned to look at Thorin.

"No matter. You will stay here as guests for the day. We will discuss the matter between ourselves tonight," Beorn ordered, pulling a bowl out of one of the cabinets and putting some stew in it.

"We-" Thorin began to say.

Bilbo took that moment to elbow the dwarf king in the side, being careful not to hit somewhere he had seen the warg's teeth bite into.

He heard Thorin grunt and then turn to face Bilbo.

"You are still injured," Bilbo grumbled. "Appreciate this break for what it is."

Thorin sighed. "Very well. We shall stay here for another night."

* * *

Alex glanced around the table that the dwarves were sitting at, studying them. They seemed weary and tired from the last couple of nights that they had weathered. He had smelled the orcs and wargs that were chasing after the dwarves but they had kept their distance. Beorn turned to exchange a significant look then walked a couple of feet away from the wizard and the dwarves.

Alex sighed but followed anyway, feeling Gandalf's gaze follow him.

"What is it?" Alex asked, looking at his father and lifting an eyebrow.

"Stay and look after the dwarves," Beorn rumbled. "I need to look at one of the horses."

Alex groaned, glancing up and over to the dwarves and the hobbit. "Da, they aren't that bad. I know you dislike dwarves but this may give us an opportunity."

"Opportunity?"

"Yes. Or at least for me to investigate the Mirkwood," Alex replied steadily. "The magic that encircles the forest should be examined and who better to do that than me?"

Beorn sighed. "I know that Eruand Oromë visited me when you were born to explain but that doesn't mean I'm letting you go into harm's way. We don't even know how the elves will take to you."

Alex sighed. "It's been three hundred years since I was born to Asa and you. It's been 50 years since we escaped from Azog, whom I recognized last night, for your information. I can take care of myself being both a wizard and skin-changer."

"I recognized Azog too," Beorn grumbled deeply then sighed. "If you are to go, be careful. The orcs might still have the poison that they used to control us and your sister."

Alex nodded. "I would be careful. I do not want to repeat that experience."

"Okay. Go, guide the dwarves through the forest."

Alex nodded his head gratefully then strode over to open the chest that he had brought out last night.

"Alex..."

Alex turned around to glance at his father.

Beorn frowned, turned to look at the dwarves and hobbit then back to Alex. "You may want to follow them further."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Further? As in..."

"Aye. To Erebor," Beorn replied. "I'll plan on following you eventually."

Alex nodded then turned to fetch the armor that he rarely used and his weapons.


	2. Chapter 2

Alex watched as the dwarves all seemingly relaxed, pulling out various things from their packs and some starting to sharpen their swords and axes. It had been a long time since he himself had really relaxed and the reappearance of Azog had recharged him and his father, if he had seen correctly. In fact, Beorn had probably said yes so that they could take revenge, not just to guide the dwarves through the forest.

The orc had kept their whole family prisoner, tortured them and made them fight each other for fun. Despite the fact that both he and his sister used to be wizards in a previous life, Azog had come by a drug, or a poison, that could control them. It dampened their magic and their shape-shifting and their strength, making them weak and pliant for the bastard's purposes.

Alex, Beorn and Elise had made it out alive but severely injured and vulnerable. The rest of their family had gotten slaughtered after one of them tried to escape. Though what they had gone through had made Alex's fur coat change color out of pure fear and trauma. His coat used to be pure black, just like Elise's was. Now he had white strands throughout his hair and when he changed, his coat was pure white.

After they had escaped, the three of them had split up. Elisehad been too fearful to live near the forest and Dol Goldur and the orcs, so she had gone to live in Lake-town. Alex and their father had come back to live in the Anduin valley to keep an eye on the goblin caves.

And now, the dwarves finally gave Alex a reason to go hunt. His father had again and again said that it was too dangerous, magic be damned. But now... they could finally give chase.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard booted feet coming closer to the steps he was sitting on. The three younger dwarves were staring at him with no little fascination. The older looking blond dwarf was looking at the darker haired one with annoyed fondness.

"May I help you, young ones?" Alex asked, looking them over. Of course, it was the younger ones that came over to him; he had caught a few of the looks that the older dwarves had given him. They thought him unnatural. He didn't much care about any of the looks that they gave him, he was well used to it. Though, this time at least, they couldn't stare at his scar; he had not been born with it.

"'Young'?" the darker haired one repeated, his eyes widening. "We're not young."

"Aren't you young?" the third dwarf questioned, sounding very shy and glancing back at the older dwarves every other minute.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "If you consider 400 years old young then yes, I'm young."

"You're 400 years old?!" The darker haired one sputtered, staring at him in askance. The other two were staring at him with wide eyes.

Alex chuckled. He had added in the years he had spent as a regular human in England. He hadn't lost his mischievousness when he had been reborn.

"Are you really 400 years old?" Gandalf asked as he strode over to sit down on a chair across from Alex. "Though I know for sure that Beorn is younger."

Alex gave a considering noise. "Maybe."

Gandalf raised an eyebrow at him, drawing a pipe out of his robes.

"It's certainly none of your business how old I am," Alex said, frowning, feeling some magic float toward him. "And certainly not business that you need to use magic to find out."

Gandalf spluttered, choking on some of his pipe smoke. "How..."

"It's a talent," Alex replied nonchalantly, standing up and going to see to cleaning his weapon.

He padded over to his room, dodging some of the dwarves that were in his way, and grabbed his yew bow and broadsword off the pegs that he hung them on.

"What kind of a bow is that?" one of the younger dwarves asked, staring at the strange, black bow in Alex's hands. Alex had noticed that this one had a quiver that was empty but the dwarf had managed to keep his bow, even through the goblin tunnels.

Alex stared at the dwarf, raising an eyebrow. "What is your name?"

"Kíli, at your service and this one is my brother, Fíli. That's Ori."

Alex watched as Kíli pointed to the blond haired dwarf then at the other younger dwarf. Fíli nodded at Alex, not quite comfortable in Alex's presence as Kíli was.

"Kíli, tis a good name, I suppose," Alex said then glanced down at his bow. "My weapon is made out of yew wood."

Kíli stared down at the bow then glanced back up at him. "Yew? I've never heard of a bow being made from that kind of wood before."

"And nor will you, I should think," Alex commented. "It's what orcs use for their bows."

The three dwarves blanched. Alex could see that a couple of the other dwarves had stopped in their tracks and turned to stare at him.

"Do you mean to say..." Kíli trailed off, staring at Alex in no little awe.

"Yes, I stole one of their bows," Alex replied steadily, grinning a little. "I believe it was just a little of what was owed to me and my family."

"Owed?"

Alex turned to glance up at the dwarf who was sitting by Thorin Oakenshield.

"They took my family captive," Alex remarked.

"They took your family captive?" Fíli asked. "But, I should think your people are strong enough..."

Alex turned away for a second then returned his gaze to the dwarves who were staring at him.

"Orcs have their ways," Alex said with a grimace. "Azog had his hand in their methods."

* * *

Alex startled awake when he heard a loud yelp. He got out of his bed, stroked the fur of his dog Theo, and padded out to the main room. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dark and spotted the hobbit who had fallen while making his way back from the bathroom. He was about to go make sure Bilbo was okay but his yelp seemed to awaken Thorin, who was immediately up and walking over to the hobbit. The other dwarves kept on sleeping, most of them snoring away

He yawned, watched for a second more and decided he was intruding on a private scene when Thorin pulled Bilbo into his arms. Alex turned around and was halfway through his doorway when he heard a rough call.

"Alexander?"

He turned back around and saw that Thorin had turned around, now holding a limp Bilbo in his arms. Alex strode over, walking over any dwarves, and leaned down to look at the two.

"What is it?" Alex asked, studying the dwarf then glanced into his eyes. They were full of worry for the little hobbit and Alex could see that Thorin was tired too. He suspected that if it had not been in the middle of the night and instead during the day, he wouldn't have been able to see the worry so clearly.

"Bilbo is hurt," Thorin murmured. "And I do not want to wake up my company; they need their rest."

Alex raised an eyebrow and glanced down at Bilbo, taking a big breath. "Broken bone or something else?"

Thorin stared down at Bilbo then looked up at Alex. "His foot was burned last night."

"Last night? How... Did he not notice it until now?" Alex enquired, standing up. "Follow me. I've got something for burns in my bedroom."

"He may have noticed it," Thorin muttered, lifting Bilbo into his arms and following Alex.

"And you didn't tend to it?" Alex asked, pushing his door open. Theo was still asleep on his bed and Alex rolled his eyes. The dog was a late sleeper, often not waking up until late morning.

"If he noticed it, he did not make us aware of it," Thorin defended.

"Alright. Just put him on the bed; let me go through my things."

"The dog..."

"Theo won't bite," Alex remarked, going over to his closet. "He's used to bigger creatures. He may look like a wolf but he's a big softie when it comes to people."

Alex scanned the drawers, sniffing until he found the one he was looking for and pulled out the burn paste. After his family had escaped from the orcs, he and Elise had put together potions and pastes for a kit for each of them to have. They had also worked together on an antidote for the poison that Azog had used, just in case.

Alex then turned and went over to the bed, summoning a chair to sit in. Thorin had gone to sit on the other side of the bed, holding Bilbo's right hand. When Alex performed that bit of magic though, Thorin's eyes widened then narrowed. Theo had made room and had propped his head on his paws, watching.

"Which foot is it?" Alex questioned, placing the container in his lap and opening it.

"It's my right foot."

Alex looked up and saw that Bilbo had woken.

"Hello, little one," Alex murmured.

Bilbo's eyes widened and he glanced over at Thorin who smiled reassuringly at him. Bilbo then turned to look up at Alex.

"I'm in your bed," Bilbo commented.

Alex chuckled quietly and nodded. "Yes. But you can have it for the night. Let me just tend your foot then I'll be out of your way."

"But... it's your bed," Bilbo grumbled.

"Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't," Alex remarked, casting a warming charm on the paste. "May I?"

He held out a hand to place it over Bilbo's foot.

"I guess so," Bilbo said, nodding slowly.

Alex gently, not letting any of his strength through, picked up Bilbo's foot and studied it. The burn was bright red still and there were blisters dotted on the injury.

"How exactly did you come by this injury?" Alex asked, as he silently cast a cleaning charm on the wound.

"That is what I want to know," Thorin spoke, with a meaningful glance at Bilbo. "I didn't feel any injuries when... on the Carrock."

"You didn't exactly feel my feet," Bilbo murmured, blushing a little.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Your company was at the Carrock?"

Bilbo looked between the two and seemed to settle on Thorin. "I guess I must have accidentally stepped on a flame."

Alex dipped his fingers in the burn paste and looked at the injury again. It was now all clean so he began to spread the paste on the burn. Bilbo started to squirm a little, giggling. Thorin looked at him worriedly then at Alex with a frown.

"This paste does not hurt," Alex commented.

"Oh, it tickles. That's all," Bilbo said. "My feet are rather ticklish, I should have mentioned that."

"Ticklish indeed," Thorin remarked, staring at Bilbo.

"Okay, all done here," Alex said, drawing his fingers away and putting the lid on the paste. He stood up and put it away in his pack for tomorrow. "You two can have the bed, if you like. I'm going on a run."

"Running? This..." Bilbo trailed off.

"This early in the morning?" Alex said, nodding. "My father and I usually oversee the leagues around our home at this time. Make sure there's no orcs around."

"On foot?" Bilbo questioned as they both watched him.

"In a manner of speaking," Alex replied with a grin as he strode over to the door. "Oh, and I'm coming with you."

"Coming with us?" Thorin repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. I have business in the forest and if I can guide your company through at the same time..." Alex responded.

"Gandalf will be coming with us," Bilbo remarked. "We don't need you too."

"Well, I'll be going regardless," Alex said then strode through the door.


End file.
